Rain brings multitude of crop and livestock problems

Farming correspondent

Monday 2 July 2012

LAST month's torrential rain has created many problems for farmers as well as the organisers of outdoor events such as agricultural shows.

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rog wood

The first cut of silage has been of extremely variable quality, while those who have still to take their first cut have the additional problem of land that has become extremely wet.

Late-sown maize, destined to be made into silage for dairy cows, is coming under attack from slugs that are causing more noticeable damage in the cool, slow growing conditions.

The wet weather has also led to more disease in arable crops like cereals and oilseed rape, and disrupted the spraying of fungicides.Barley, which is an important crop for Scottish farmers, is under threat due to the extreme weather patterns. Wind and rain has limited the number of dry, wind-free days for crop spraying. This has led to autumn-sown crops carrying high levels of disease.By contrast, the spring-sown crops of barley are generally looking remarkably clean. However, the damp conditions are ideal for fungal diseases like ramularia, with the west of Scotland predicted to be worst affected. There is also concern about leaf spotting, which affects yields.Scottish scientists have discovered an inherited disease resistance mechanism in barley plants that could lead to disease- resistant barley in the future. A research team from the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) has found that barley plants, when stimulated to protect themselves against fungal attack, produce seeds with the same self-defence mechanism built in, protecting the next generation of plants.These results raise the possibility of producing seed in the future that has been primed for resistance to pathogen attack.Another problem for arable farmers this year is the risk of lodging – that's where the crops fall flat on the ground. The risk is high in some crops this year due to earlier drilling and lush autumn growth. Heavy rainfall in June has resulted in taller crops of oilseed rape starting to lodge.Livestock farmers haven't had their problems to seek either. Young cattle and lambs have been under attack from stomach worms that thrive in damp conditions. As a result they have needed regular dosing with anthelmintics. Despite that, young stock never thrive in wet weather as well as they do in sunny, dry conditions.Sheep have also been under attack from bluebottle flies recently. They lay their eggs on the soiled part of a sheep's fleece, like their backsides, the eggs hatch out into maggots and feed on the flesh. They can literally eat a sheep alive.To avoid that, farmers dip their sheep in a solution of pesticides, or pour concentrated pesticides onto their backs. To be more cost effective and to make dipping easier, adult sheep need to be shorn – and that's been nigh-on impossible to organise in recent weeks.Wool stores best when it has been shorn dry, so to be sure of that, it's best to put sheep under cover the night before a planned day's shearing in order to keep them dry. Easier said than done recently.Another incentive to get sheep shorn this year has been the increased incidence of "couping". That's where sheep roll over to rub their itchy back, but then get stuck as a result of their heavy, damp fleeces spreading out and preventing them from rolling back over onto their feet.The incidence of couping increases in the kind of showery, humid weather we have been experiencing.They may look silly with their four hooves sticking up and pawing the air, but their predicament soon turns fatal. Sheep, like cattle, are ruminants and produce a lot of methane as they digest their forage-based diet. That's normally belched out as they ruminate, but the process stops if they are couped on their backs. That leads to a rapid build-up of gas in their rumen which kills them – sometimes within an hour.The cure is simply a matter of rolling the wayward sheep back over and steadying it until it regains its balance.The snag with a flock that is couping is that it has to be checked regularly, as often as three times a day, to minimise the risk of losing valuable breeding stock. It's time most farmers can't spare at this time of year – hence the reason many are keen to get their sheep shorn as soon as possible.

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Rain brings multitude of crop and livestock problems

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